It was fitting that on a wild day in Edinburgh, England won back the Calcutta Cup thanks to a decisive intervention of Ellis Genge. He typified the spirit of defiance which propelled his side to victory.

Townsend has warned exile Russell that he will have to make the same 'sacrifices' as every other Scotland player - or be banished from his squad for the duration of the Six Nations.

The veteran fly-half's kicking was exemplary as he added the extras to tries from Jacques Vermeulen and Stuart Hogg as well as slotting over four penalties.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: I try not to be overly partisan in my columns because I love good rugby and admire top-quality play from all teams, but I hope Scotland record a thumping win over Italy.

ROB ROBERTSON IN ROME: Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend believes the pressure has been lifted after his side 'zeroed' Italy in an emphatic Six Nations win in the Italian capital.

Russell will not feature in the remaining games, against France on Sunday and Wales in Cardiff on March 14, as it is feared his arrival would detract from preparations for two games only six days apart.

EXCLUSIVE: A Scottish Women's Rugby player being treated for coronavirus spent days training near to Team GB Olympians at their base in Loughborough before she was diagnosed.

Scottish Rugby Union chiefs have set aside £500,000 to help clubs struggling in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak after suspending the domestic season until at least March 29.

The PFA Player of the Year ended last season with no opponent completing a dribble past him in a staggering 64 matches. Liverpool centre back has lifted the lid on what has helped him.

De Jong completed a big-money £65million move to the Spanish giants from Ajax in January and he will be officially unveiled as a Barcelona player on Friday.

United States take on Netherlands for ultimate glory in the Women's World Cup final in France today. Sportsmail will provide you live updates as it happens from the Lyon Olympic Stadium.

After Liverpool wished him happy birthday on Twitter, the club's supporters inevitably took to social media to sing his praises after quickly becoming a fan favourite on Merseyside.

De Ligt became the most sought after youngster in the world after a huge breakthrough season with Ajax, and he has attracted heavy interest from the likes of Juventus and Barcelona.

Ajax have announced their star defender Matthijs De Ligt has been left out of their squad for their summer tour to Austria pending 'a possible transfer'.

Maurizio Sarri views Matthijs de Ligt as a key part of a three-man defensive wall at Juventus this season. The Dutch centre back is nearing the completion of his £63million transfer.

During the latest episode of BT Sport's 'What I Wore' series, Van Persie was asked to talk about the iconic moments from his career as he worked his way through the shirts he donned during his career.

The 35-year-old had been playing for Al-Gharafa in Qatar but images of him attending Utrecht's clash against VVV-Venlo caused a stir after they showed him to be carrying a few extra pounds.

Holland boss Ronald Koeman has backed wonderkid Matthijs de Ligt to cement himself firmly in the starting XI of Italian giants Juventus.

The Dutch, managed by Bert Van Marwijk in 2010, were defeated in the final by Spain following an extra-time winner by midfield maestro Andres Iniesta in South Africa.

October 13, 1976. Best's career was on the wane. He had turned 30 that summer and come back from his first stint in the US with Los Angeles Aztecs.

Georginio Wijnaldum admits Holland's recent absence from major tournaments has been 'painful' as they look set to end that exodus at Euro 2020 next summer.

De Toekomst training complex in Amsterdam was like a scene from Armageddon as Ajax fans let their players know what the fixture means to them while there were similar scenes in Rotterdam.

Ronald Koeman has once again reiterated his desire to take over as Barcelona manager following Euro 2020 after it emerged this month that he is free to leave his Holland contract after the tournament ends.

Despite being just 17-years-old, Liverpool starlet Ki-jana Hoever is making heads turn weekly. On the brink of U17 World Cup glory with Holland, Sportsmail takes a look at the 'new Van Dijk.'

Ruud Gullit (right) treated football fans to a throwback photo of himself posing with fellow Holland legends Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard (left).

When Ronald Koeman was shown the door at Goodison Park back in October 2017, it was difficult to imagine a route back to the top for the Dutchman, but now he is a Barcelona candidate.

Dutch footballer Memphis Depay has hit out at racist fans after yet another foul incident caused a football game between FC Den Bosch and Excelsior to be stopped on Sunday.

Holland and Liverpool star Gini Wijnaldum says he would walk from the pitch were he to be targeted with racial abuse, just as Ahmad Mendes Moreira was recently in a Dutch second division tie.

Holland midfielder Gini Wijnaldum backed up his powerful words on racism in football this week, by leading by example for his national team and making a visual statement.

Former Newcastle and Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew takes the reigns at the Dutch outfit with the club struggling in 17th in the league having been thumped 6-1 by Ajax at the weekend.

MARTIN SAMUEL - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: Don't we ever learn? The marquee events, the marquee players, don't care about our wish for a northern powerhouse and FIFA will be no different.

Ireland striker Parrott is a loan target for a number of clubs in England but Pardew has now entered the hunt and believes the 17 year-old can help fire second-bottom Den Haag to safety.

Ronald Koeman has revealed he rejected the chance to manage Lionel Messi and Co at Barcelona in order to focus on his job as Holland's head coach.

Ronald Koeman's Barcelona exit clause has been delayed until 2021 after the postponement of the European Championships this summer.

Ronald Koeman was one of the many candidates Barcelona had on their shortlist to replace Ernesto Valverde, but he said he was reluctant to leave the Netherlands so close to Euro 2020.

Barcelona had high hopes for Frenkie de Jong after winning the race to sign him last summer for £65million, but the 22-year-old has so far failed to live up to expectation at the Camp Nou.

Dutch top-flight club FC Utrecht are preparing for legal action to fight the Royal Netherlands Football Association's decision to cancel the remainder of the league season.

Inter Milan forward Romelu Lukaku has sent a message of support to former manager Ronald Koeman after he underwent a heart procedure in Amsterdam. 

The 32-year-old athlete joins a cast that includes Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, Oliver Stark, Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi, Rockmond Dunbar and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Ronda Rousey managed to stay in character after breaking her middle finger and fracturing the tip of her ring finger while shooting a scene on 9-1-1 in Mexico last week.

The 32-year-old Olympic bronze medalist is joining fellow pro-wrestler Sonya Deville on the cast of E!'s Total Divas in Season 9, which premieres Wednesday, October 2.

The wrestling duo shoveled manure, fed animals, and bonded with her 'excited' purebred Wagyu steer called Kobe

Two weeks ago, the New England Patriots were preparing for an inevitable Super Bowl victory. Just 14 days later and now one of their best players could be headed for the WWE.

Ronda Rousey advised her fans to be more prepared for emergency situations through 'sustainable living' amid coronavirus outbreak: 'Let's stop panicking and start preparing.'

Ronda Rousey, 33, said during an interview that 'ungrateful fans' were one of the reasons she chose to leave WWE and that she'd rather spend time with her family

Northern Irishman McIlroy carded a six-under 64 to charge up the leaderboard and sit alongside American duo Matt Kuchar and Webb Simpson on 13 under.

All of Rory McIlroy's well-documented problems when playing in the final group on Sunday were consigned to history emphatically during the course of a stunning seven stroke success.

McIlroy's second victory of the season followed his only missed cut of 2019 in the Memorial Tournament and gave the former world No 1 a timely confidence boost.

DEREK LAWRENSON - WORLD OF GOLF: Rory McIlroy has been made the joint favourite to win this week's US Open. Here are six reasons for McIlroy backers to be cheerful.

Under-fire organisers of the US Open have admitted it is 'critical' they get it right at Pebble Beach this week after four years of controversy.